The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Hippocampal memory isn’t all about place cells

Scientists have found evidence that hippocampal memories of experience are not stored in place cells.

Award-winning 3D images of living cells

An interview with Yuko Kiyosue, discussing the 3D images of living cells that gained her and her colleagues a recent award.

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Extra “eye” movements are the key to better self-driving cars

If self-driving cars make saccades like people, they might make fewer mistakes identifying important features of the road.

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Scientists create new type of self-healing material

This newly created ethylene-based material has shape memory that allows self-healing!

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Cassava engineered to produce healthier tapioca starch

Reducing the amount of starch branching enzymes in cassava plants made more resistant and thus healthier tapioca starch.

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Freedom from fear ?‍♀️

Researchers discover a dopaminergic circuit in the brain that allows fear associations to disappear when there isn’t anything to be afraid of anymore.

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Latest research animations

Self-assembly of spider silk

This gut microbe might protect against diabetes and reduce insulin resistance

NEW: One-way hydrogel guides motion of tiny worms!

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Researchers create a functional salivary gland organoid ?

Scientists have succeeded in growing three-dimensional salivary gland tissue that produced saliva like normal glands when implanted into mice.

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Japanese people are a mixture of three separate ancestral groups

A new study shows that the current Japanese population is derived from 3 ancestral groups, one of which brought Denisovan DNA to the party.

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Dietary amino acid linked to cancer in flies

Researchers have found a dietary amino acid linked to oncogene expression / tumor formation; reduced consumption reduced cancer in flies.

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A new imaging biomarker for the aging brain

Enlarged ventricles is a sign of an aging brain. New research shows that this phenomenon can be predicted by lagging brain circulation that is detected by MRI.

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FABP4: A preschool-aged biomarker for autism

Reduced FABP4 was found in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder, making it a potential new biomarker for the condition.

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Blue gene regulation helps plants respond properly to light

Blue light alters some gene expression in plants by changing the transcription start sites to downstream locations.

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Mar

Don’t know anything about RIKEN?

by adam phillips | What's Up With Us

Don’t know anything about RIKEN? We’ve made a new RIKEN booklet that should help!

Jan

Blocking obesity with a protein-sugar combination

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Discovery of an enzyme that prevents obesity in mice through glycosylation of a protein involved fat-cell differentiation.

Dec

Robotic researcher to the rescue

by admin | Drop of science, Interviews

Masaki Watabe talks about automated robotic researchers, future robot rule, and scientific philosophy.

Dec

RIKEN Research Winter Issue

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

It’s almost the end of the year and a here’s an early holiday present! The winter issue of RIKEN Research is here, covering plant parasites, depression, atomic clocks, and more! Enjoy!

Dec

The geometry of consciousness is a multi-dimensional math trip

by admin | Research Highlight

Amanda Alvarez writes about how neuroscientists are studying consciousness with mathematics

Oct

Fall is here, and with it comes the latest issue of RIKEN Research. This issue covers tactile learning during sleep, supercomputers and simulations, solar cells, fly olfaction, tumor vaccines, and more

Sep

Locating social memories in the brain

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have identified where social memories are stored in the brains of mice. Mice are forgotten because memories cannot be retrieved.

Sep

Big news in iPS cell transplants

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

iPS cell-derived retinal cells have been successfully transplanted from one monkey to another without need of immunosuppressant drugs.

Aug

In Japan, women in science seek allies, resources in push for gender equality

by admin | What's Up With Us

neuroamanda talks about gender equality for female scientists is Japan.

Eating a high fat diet without getting obese?

Scientists discover that without innate immune cells in the intestines, eating a high fat diet does not lead to obesity in mice.

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New lab-grown retinal sheets almost ready for clinical trials

A new retinal transplant technique works by preventing bipolar cells from maturing in lab-grown retinal sheets.

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Opossums are the first genome edited marsupials

A new piezoelectronic microinjection method has allowed the first successful genome editing in marsupials: albino opossums.

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Transgenic plants ??on acid survive without water

Scientists designed transgenic plants that survive drought-like conditions by bumping up acetic acid production only when water is scarce.

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Feb

Brain clock ticks differently in autism

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new brain imaging study shows that autistic severity is linked to how long certain regions of the brain store information.

Dec

Supermassive black holes still dark and mysterious

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

For the first time, scientists have measured the strength of magnetic fields near supermassive black holes and something doesn’t add up.

Dec

Evolution of the inner ear: insights from jawless fish

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

A new story for inner ear evolution based on the developmental patterning found in hagfish, one of two extant jawless vertebrates and a link to the last common ancestor of modern jawed vertebrates.